Molly Moniere

Children with Special Needs

Interview Assignment

November 9th, 2016

When I was asked to interview a educator about the inclusion of children with special
needs, I knew exactly who I wanted to interview. I chose to speak to Heather Lauzon. Heather is
a lead teacher at Suny Potsdam Child Care center. She works with the two years age group and
she is also my mentor. Heather went to Boces for two years under the study of early childhood
and also has her CDA. She has been working at Suny Potsdam in the toddler two room since
2003. Heather has been employed with SUNY Potsdam Child Care center for twelve years. She
has worked with many age ranges including: toddlers, infants, three years old and two year
olds. Suny Potsdam is very focused on teacher development and they send their teachers to
conferences such as The Power of One conference that I attended this year. Heather is also
MAT certified.
When I asked Heather if I could interview her, she was excited. We sat down and spoke
for an hour about the topic of the inclusion of children with special needs. Heather based our
conversation on her personal experiences with a child who had autism and a child who had
cerebral palsy. I think the best point she made, is that no two children are alike. She said that it
doesnt matter if the child has special needs or not, that they are all different. We started by
talking about what a new teacher should know about teacher both children with special needs
and those without. It was quite interesting. She said that every teacher should be taught
patience, that this was the key to working with children with special needs. She also stressed
that you have to get to know each child and be aware of their triggers, warning signs and
specific needs. She also informed me that excessive planning and open communication with the
parents about the child's special needs is important for the child success. I found this practice
enlightening. It had not occurred to me that asking the parents about the childs trigger and
warnings was important before today.

Heather also suggested that teachers should seek out the services that the child needs,
for example a physical therapist came for the child with cerebral palsy and they kept an open
dialog about what that child needed.
Heather also talked to me about IFSP, or Individual Family Service Plan, she said that
these have been utilized several times in the center. Using this model she believed that the
curriculum should be standard. However, for the child with special needs, adjustments should
be made. I found the changes to the lessons that she spoke about very developmentally
appropriate and informative. She felt that every child should have the same experience. I am
inclined to agree with her after seeing some of her lessons implemented with the child who had
cerebral palsy. He participated in activities to the best of his ability and you could see the
adjustments made to the lesson as a teacher but the children knew no different. I fully think that
this approach to the education of children with special needs is best for both the special needs
child and their peers. My mentor believed that it enriched both children's lives and I agree. The
peers of the boy with cerebral palsy were very compassionate with him, and he was
compassionate back. I will keep all of her words of wisdom with me in the future. I fully agree
with the inclusion that this site has implemented and I am grateful to have been a part of this
environment.